Speak Up: I-44 Multimodal Improvements!

MoDOT is engaging the public about the ‘Forward 44’ project (changes to the Interstate 44 corridor). With the potential of billions of dollars in funding, this is your chance to advocate for multimodal improvements between large Missouri population centers and the rural communities between them.

Read on for more information on how to get involved.

What is Forward 44?

The Missouri Department of Transportation is considering changes to I-44, one of the main transportation corridors for the Show-Me State. MoDOT completed a 2008 study that analyzed the costs of expanding capacity for car and truck traffic along the corridor. The 'Forward 44' project is taking that study and developing a framework for how to proceed with potential highway expansion.

As the Forward 44 project is just getting started, a similar project is underway: 'Improve I-70' to expand Interstate 70 to six lanes. Improve I-70 was paid for with nearly $3 billion from Missouri's budget, and progressed quickly with minimal improvements for bicyclist/pedestrian safety along the corridor, and no considerations for increased transit. The funding for the expansion was adopted despite concerns from some Missourians that expanding the highway alone won’t address congestion, but may have implications for safety and induced demand for traffic along the corridor. Forward 44 risks a similar fate if we do not make MoDOT aware of the implications of expanded highways early.

What are the implications of expanded highways?

MRT believes that MoDOT has a real opportunity to create a stronger I-44 project, but it has to be done with three key priorities in mind:

1. Safety: If we only focus on expansion as the focus of this highway project, there’s a real chance that we could make I-44 less safe for everyone as a result. According to MoDOT’s own Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment, I-44 was one of the “top three roads in terms of [Vulnerable Road User] crash frequency.” Creating a safer I-44 means that we must pursue elements that protect people who walk, roll, and bike in addition to those who drive.
2. Accessibility: The I-44 corridor is home to Missourians from various backgrounds, and a considerable portion of those folks don’t have access to a vehicle. Consider this: approximately 1/3rd of Missourians do not have a driver’s license. These are elderly residents, people living with disabilities, children, and others. Without consideration of their needs, the I-44 project's highway expansion will create an even bigger barrier within and between communties and will limit their ability to access what they need for a good quality of life. What happens in the future when a school or grocery store is on the other side of the interstate and there is no safe way to get there without driving?
3. Cost: Perhaps most importantly is the question of whether a highway expansion alone is the most efficient use of our limited resources. According to the 2018 Long-Range Transportation Plan, a growing number of Missourians want and need additional travel options besides driving alone. This is also happening as Amtrak looks to develop a long-distance rail corridor alongside I-44. The cost of the entire expansion between New York-Dallas is expected to be $5 billion from federal funding sources compared to the current projected cost of the I-44 expansion within Missouri, $3.7 billion, that would largely come from state sources. Put another way, we're planning to spend nearly six times more per mile on the I-44 project than for Amtrak expansion. People deserve options that meet their needs and give them the most bang for their buck.

What MRT wants to see is what many Missourians along this corridor have asked for in the past: a project that meets the needs of everyone who lives and works along the corridor, and gives people more transportation choices. Help us in asking MoDOT to engage further and make that vision a reality.

How can I get involved?

There are three ways for the public to engage MoDOT about considering multimodal elements along the I-44 corridor:

Fill out this survey

Attend a public meeting

Sign up for more information

These meetings and survey present an early opportunity to tell MoDOT to prioritize addressing the needs of Missourians who walk, bike, use wheelchairs, and take transit to get to everyday destinations along the I-44 corridor.

Help us to send that message to MoDOT loud and clear!

Learn more

• Forward 44
  • Survey
  • Public Meetings
• News about passenger rail expansion parallel to the I-44 corridor
  • "Amtrak passenger rail could eventually be making a stop in Springfield" (KY3)
  • "Here's what Amtrak service through Springfield could look like" (Springfield News-Leader)
• Missouri's Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment [2023]
• Media about costly American highway expansions
  • "Will Parson’s proposed expansion of I-70 reduce congestion? Here’s what research shows" (Kansas City Star)
  • "America *Must* End Highway Expansions" (Strong Towns)
  • "Widening Highways Doesn’t Fix Traffic. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?" (New York Times)